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ITE Timeline

Change is a constant at ITE and since 1991, we have been through several phases of development. These are only the highlights and milestones. Life at ITE is always colourful and rewarding, there’s never a dull moment and there are too many stories to tell. The journey goes on…

1992

1992

The Moscow International Motor Show (MIMS) is launched, providing global automotive brands with a chance to explore the early opportunities available in a huge new market. The launch event was a healthy 5,000m2 at the Krasnaya Presnaya Expocentr (now better known as Expocentre).

More recently, ITE joined forces with Messe Frankfurt (organisers of Automechanika) to create the JV company ITEMF which now organises MIMS Automechanika.

Image below:
The opening of MIMS circa 2000.

1993

1993

In 1993, we launched our first international oil and gas exhibitions in Russia (the Moscow International Oil & Gas Exhibition, MIOGE) and Kazakhstan (the Kazakhstan International Oil & Gas Exhibition, KIOGE).

With vast natural resources, including some of the planet’s most abundant hydrocarbon reserves, the oil and gas industry in countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan have been a mainstay of economic development. Our exhibitions and conferences continue to play an important role in connecting people, providing vital links between the worlds of commerce, politics and science.

1994

1994

KazBuild is launched in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was the first event of what is now the world’s largest portfolio of events in for the building and interiors industry.

Significant GDP growth throughout the CIS, led to a boom in the construction sector and our events became the meeting place for the building and interiors industry. At its peak in the mid-2000s, KazBuild Spring was launched to satisfy the demand for additional opportunities to showcase products from around the world to the Kazakh market.

Image below: The iconic arches at the entrance to Atakent Expo, the venue for KazBuild since 1994

1994

1994

The Moscow International Travel & Tourism event (MITT) launches and wins the World Association of Travel Agents award for Best Tourism Show in the same year.

Growing disposable income and an increasingly wealthy middle-class in Russia created a huge demand for international travel. MITT has been the country’s main event for meeting representatives of a huge number of destinations and agents for leisure and business travel.

Image below: Moscow Mayor, Yuri Luzhkov opening MITT in 1998

1994

1994

Wherever possible, we operate ‘in-market’ to improve operational capabilities, develop intimate knowledge of local market conditions and build strong relationships with venues and other key suppliers. In 1994, we opened a permanent office in Almaty, ITECA.

1995

1995

Shortly after launching MosBuild’95, we signed an agreement with the Blenheim Exhibition Group, organisers of Batimat in Paris and renamed our event Batimat-MosBuild’95. The combination proved successful with the launch event being over-subscribed five months prior to the show.

180 exhibitors participated in the 1995 event. In the following decade, Batimat-MosBuild changed its name to Russia Building Week before returning to MosBuild. During this period, the Russian building and interiors sector experienced rampant growth. In April 2008, a few months before the global economic slowdown affected business worldwide, MosBuild hosted 2,751 exhibitors from 43 countries and was visited by almost 100,000 people.

Images below:
Changing times - MosBuild in the mid-1990s, 2005 and 2015

1995

1995

Like MosBuild, the first edition of MIPS in 1995 was co-organised with the Blenheim Exhibition Group and sold out 5 months prior to the start of the event.

The Moscow International Protection, Security and Fire Safety exhibition has been an ever-present in our calendar and our experience in Moscow provided the impetus for further launches in the security sector, worldwide.

1998

1998

Russia suffered a major financial crisis in August 1998. In one month, the rouble lost two-thirds of its value against the dollar and inflation rocketed to 84%.

The economy was to bounce back quickly in the next few years. Oil prices began to rise and one of the effects of currency devaluation was to make imported goods more expensive, boosting the business fortunes of domestic producers.

Nevertheless, the experience prompted us to broaden the geographic scope of the company - diversifying the risk attached to reliance on a single market.

1998

1998

The 1998 Russian financial crisis prompted a policy of diversification to balance the Group's reliance on a single market. In the latter part of the year, we embarked on a period of intense expansion, with joint ventures and acquisitions, including:

2000

2000

The acquisition of Comtek International added nine new events to our portfolio in Moscow. Principal amongst these was WorldFood Moscow which would continue to grow as well as being replicated globally.

Image below:
Impressive stands at WorldFood Moscow in the early 2000s.

2001

2001

2001 saw the construction of pavilion 7 at Moscow's Expocentr. The pavilion opened it's doors in 2002 and added more than 15,000 sqm of exhibition space to boost the growth potential of our largest events.

2002

2002

2003

2003

In a move to re-focus the business on core assets and markets, we exited several JVs set up in the late 1990s. This moved our direct interests away from countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Egypt.

2003

2003

Our expertise in organising large scale trade events in the oil and gas sector resulted in a successful bid to organise the prestigious World Petroleum Congress 2005 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This was the first of several contracts for global events that we were awarded as a PCO - Professional Congress Organiser.

Images below:
WPC 2005 opened by President Thabo Mbeki

2004

2004

Oil and gas is the mainstay of the economy in Azerbaijan and has fuelled massive growth in all sectors in recent years. The acquisition of Caspian Events Limited brought the country's leading trade event for the oil and gas sector - Caspian Oil and Gas.

Image below:
The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev at Caspian Oil & Gas

2004

2004

The publisher of magazines such as Womenswear Buyer and Menswear Buyer, the RAS Publishing Group shared the same premises as the Moda business that we had acquired in 2001. In 2004, we secured the partnership by acquiring RAS to complement and support our future growth in the fashion retail media sector.

2007

2007

The FTSE 250 is an index of the 101st to the 350th largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. Our promotion to the FTSE 250 for the first time, was a huge achievement and enhanced our standing with the global investment community.

2007

2007

When Ian Tomkins took over as CEO in 2002, despite our successes, our future was uncertain. Five years later, we were in a position of considerable strength. A period of consolidation allowed us to focus our efforts in core markets and industries and throughout this time, we were able to deliver impressive organic growth.

2008

2008

2008

We continue to strengthen our leadership position in the Russian building sector with the acquisition of 75% of Interstroyexpo in St. Petersburg. This gives Primexpo control of the two leading events for the growing building and interiors industry in Russia's second largest city.

Image below:
An old Interstroyexpo logo

2008

2008

We extend our reach into Russia's regions with the 100% acquisition of Siberian Fair LLC in Novosibirsk. This adds several new shows to the Group's portfolio including many that fit well with our existing event calendar in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

2010

2010

Reed Exhibitions own the world's leading exhibition brand in the field of heating and ventilation. In 2010, we acquired Fin-mark, the company with the rights to organise Aquatherm events in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

This acquisition extended our involvement with the Aquatherm series of events, having previously established a joint venture with Reed to organise Aquatherm Moscow.

Image below:
Aquatherm logos at the time of acquisition

2010

2010

As an emerging market specialist, India was a country that suited our experience and expertise. Our re-entry into the Indian market was a significant strategic move and signalled the start of what has become a major part of our business.

Amongst the first events acquired were MMMM (minerals, metals, metallurgy and materials) and Paperex.

2011

2011

In 2011, we acquired a 60% stake in YEMF, organiser of Yapi (Turkeybuild) events in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. In 2015, at 40,000 net sqm, Turkeybuild Istanbul was the largest exhibition in our portfolio.

2011

2011

Our presence in Russia's regions extends to Krasnodar in the south of the country with the acquisition of KrasnodarEXPO. The deal delivers more than 20 annual events that collectively cover around 50,000 sqm of net exhibition space.

Image below:
The KrasnodarEXPO team in 2011

2012

2012

Our interests in India are boosted by the acquisition of a minority stake in the Mumbai-based organiser Asian Business Exhibitions and Conferences (ABEC), organiser of 19 exhibitions including the Acetech building shows.

2012

2012

Our Ukrainian business, Premier Expo expanded rapidly in 2012 with the acquisitions of Autoexpo and BeautexCo. These two companies added several new events to our calendar in Kyiv, including SIA (automotive) and InterCHARM Ukraine (beauty).

Images below:
The ever popular InterCHARM Ukraine

2013

2013

Our Asian business is growing rapidly and Mark Temple-Smith establishes a base in Singapore to direct developments in the region. Initial objectives include growth through acquisition, joint venture partnerships and new launches - as well as integrating and developing our operations in India, China, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Image below:
Mark Temple-Smith

2013

2013

A 50:50 joint venture with Hong Kong based Worldcoat Exhibitions Ltd marks a major step for us in China. Our investment results in the creation of a new organiser, ‘Sinostar ITE’ and the acquisition of two major trade events, ChinaCoat and SFChina (surface finishing).

ChinaCoat and SFChina serve the decorative, industrial coatings and finishing industries in China and the surrounding region. They are held concurrently in November each year and alternate between Shanghai and Guangzhou.

2014

2014

In December 2014, we made two acquisitions that significantly boosted our transport & logistics portfolio. Eurasia Rail and Breakbulk.

Eurasia Rail is an annual railway infrastructure event held in Istanbul.

Breakbulk is a series of global events that cover the bespoke transportation of goods that cannot be containerised - normally large-scale project equipment. The series expanded our geographic footprint into the US (Houston) and Belgium (Antwerp) with more events taking place in Shanghai, Johannesburg.

Breakbulk Europe would later win our event of the year award in 2015.

Image below:
Breakbulk's Alli McEntyre receives the event of the year award from Neil Jones and Russell Taylor

2015

2015

Nothing beats a high quality trade event for its ability to unite buyers and suppliers. For three or four days a year, people come together to discuss and conduct business.

In the process, we get to know thousands of companies and individuals and one of the ways that we can add value to their working lives, is to provide a way for them to stay in touch, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

WorldBuild365 is a web-based product that complements our global portfolio of building and interiors events. Much like an event, it provides a showcase of products for buyers to browse and a forum for buyers and sellers to connect.

Image below:
WB365 - desktop, tablet and mobile

2016

2016

A new era begins for the company as Mark Shashoua takes the reigns as the Group’s CEO.

Mark was a co-founder, senior manager and Board Member of ITE up to August 1999. He subsequently co-founded and became CEO of the Expomedia Group, was an operating partner of a private equity fund and was CEO of i2i events group (formerly EMAP Connect).